An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 185 Grandfather‘s Arrival (Part One)

After leaving the temporary imperial palace, they went into a dense forest. Yun Shang frowned. She

had heard that the forest was haunted. However, she had never been there before. Yun Shang didn't

know there was thick fog here at night. Since it was late at night, the fog hadn't dissipated. It was

impossible to see anything in the forest.

'How cunning! But...don't they worry about the fog?' The Princess knit her brows as she thought.

"We'd better withdraw now. Let's go!" said Yun Shang. She waved at her men to leave. Then she went

to Prince Jing's mansion alone.

Prince Jing's chamberlain was waiting for her at the door. Seeing Yun Shang, he hurried to her. "Your

Highness, did you find His Highness?" the chamberlain asked eagerly.

Yun Shang shook her head. As soon as she walked into the mansion, she found that the light in Prince

Jing's study was on. As she walked into the study, she saw several people in the room. She recognized

Wang Jinhuan. She also recognized two other people in the room. She remembered having met them

in the military camp before.

Those two men were shocked when they saw her dressed like a girl. "Mr. Xiao?" They kept looking at

her and rubbing their eyes. They were so confused that they did not know what to say. It was hard for

them to accept the truth that Mr. Xiao was a girl. 'She lived with Prince Jing when she was in the

military camp! What's their real relationship?' The two confused men thought.

"Your Highness, did you find him?" Wang Jinhuan stood up promptly and looked at Yun Shang.

Hearing Wang Jinhuan's question, the two men became even more confused. 'Is she a Princess?' They

thought in shock.

Yun Shang nodded to them before sitting down. "We saw him, but he was taken into a thick forest with

pea-soup like fog. I was afraid that there would be traps in the forest, so I didn't follow them after they

went into the forest."

"Dense fog?" murmured Wang Jinhuan, "It might be toxic miasma, which is from some kind of

poisonous flower in the forest. Are those people impenetrable?"

Hearing these, a thin man next to him spoke after thinking for a while. "I have heard that people in the

State of Xia have the ability to walk in miasma since miasma is common in their state."

"The State of Xia?" Yun Shang looked up at the thin man in surprise. "It means that the person who did

all this might be the seventh Prince of the State of Xia..."

Wang Jinhuan seemed unconvinced. "I have met the seventh Prince of the State of Xia. He looked

weak and sick. In addition, His Highness has no enemies in the State of Xia. That state is rich, but

small. The total number of people in that state is even less than that of our Imperial City. So they have Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

no reason to take His Highness and work against our state." He countered.

"You've seen a lot of fights between big families in the Imperial City. Think of those things, and then tell

me do you still believe in appearances? Of course, you know that many things are not as it seems. As

far as I know, none of the princes in the State of Xia are innocent. Pretending to be weak might be the

best way to protect themselves under such circumstances. Seeing that the State of Yelang intends to

unite with us by marriage, the State of Xia sent their seventh Prince here long before the arrival of the

envoys from the State of Yelang as they were afraid of the outcome of the marriage discussions. If we

do ally with the State of Yelang, the State of Xia would be in danger. They took Prince Jing not for

personal conflict, but for Prince Jing's power in our state and his strength in war. If my guess is right,

they are going to pin the kidnapping on the State of Yelang." Her voice was hoarse with weariness.

However, her hoarse voice made the princess's words particularly persuasive.

The two men who had met her in the military camp had seen her wisdom before, so they agreed,

without hesitating. "Your Highness, what should we do now?" they asked promptly.

Yun Shang thought for a while. Then she responded. "Block the gates of the city to find Prince Jing.

The more high-sounding the alert, the better! We are going to make it widely known that Prince Jing

has disappeared. We will offer gold as a reward to encourage people to provide clues."

"People respect and support Prince Jing. I'm afraid that people would become jittery if we told them of

his disappearance, " said a man who had been sitting on the far side. His face reflected an incredulous

look.

Yun Shang grinned. "Even if we don't tell people the truth now, someone else will do this before us. The

commoners love Prince Jing, as a result, if other people spill the beans before we do, the commoners

will create a disturbance. My father is suspicious. If he knows that the commoners favor my uncle, his

suspicion will grow. And if we offer a high price for the clues, His Majesty will think people are active in

looking for Prince Jing just for money. If so, he'll not guard against him."

Yun Shang paused for a while. She observed their serious expressions, and continued. "Send more

spies to monitor Xia Houjing. I have to know what he does, who he meets, where he goes, and

everything else about his actions. Besides Xia Houjing's Mansion, Grand Councilor's Mansion, Wen

Mansion, and Shun Qing Mansion should also be monitored."

There was a long silence. People in the room looked at each other without saying anything. Wang

Jinhuan broke the silence with an "Aye". And the two generals who knew Yun Shang from before,

followed his response.

Seeing that the others did not answer, Yun Shang smiled. "My father has granted marriage between

Prince Jing and me. If His Highness dies, I will be half a widow. As a woman, I do care about my fiancé.

For me, he is worth more than my life."

Hearing that, Wang Jinhuan looked up at Yun Shang with his pretty eyes. He knew that her words

though spoken in jest were meaningful. Of course, her words were not intended to add humor. First,

she reminded them that she was going to be His Highness's wife. With the new identity, she would be

someone whom they should never offend. Second, she repeatedly stated her stance that she would not

allow him to die for they are engaged, and she would help Prince Jing ride out all his troubles. 'How

clever she is!' thought Wang Jinhuan.